2023 Xbox Showcase Rundown
We're officially less than 6 hours away from the Xbox Showcase + Starfield Direct. Rumors, leaks, and predictions are all over the place, and we've personally made our fair share of wild and crazy predictions. Let's one last time do a quick run-through of the many teams at Xbox and make a sort of check list of what we expect to see, if anything, from each team. Once the dust has settled, we can come back and see how things actually played out. Feel free to join in below and let us know.
343 Industries: While the team works to try and bring back some players to Halo Infinite, I honestly see them showing a quick trailer for the upcoming 4th Season of the game. At this point I don’t see a battle royal mode that everyone has been asking for being the shot in the arm the project needs and they just need to move on.
The Coalition: The Coalition is going to sit out this year. There are so many other large names floating around that they don't need to force out a Gears 6 trailer or a new IP from them to pad out the show. Let the team work, and give them a reveal in 2024.
Turn 10: Sadly, with leaks, we can pretty much nail down another quick trailer for Forza Motorsport, with a final release date I won't share here. We don't need to see another deep dive or extended look; just give us the date and another quick trailer.
Rare: As much as I'd love to see Everwild again, I'm sticking with the rumors from last year that the project was restarted from the ground up. Expect to get a trailer for the next Sea of Thieves expansion or update that I can't comment on until it's shown.
Ninja Theory: Ninja Theory is one of the few locks we pretty much know we're going to get. We've seen enough cinematic and graphic showcases. Give us a quick combat-focused gameplay trailer with a solid release date.
Double Fine: I'm the most torn on Double Fine, as I'd love for them to have something, but I feel it's still too soon since Psychonauts 2. We do know they have two other projects in development, but I'm sadly going to say we're just getting the last of their catalog put onto Game Pass.
Undead Labs: Undead Labs I see sitting out another year. With just State of Decay 3 coming from them eventually, I don't think enough progress has actually been made to start talking about releasing it. To this day, they're still actively making expansions, and working on State of Decay 2 to a point 3 almost feels like an afterthought.
Obsidian: Obsidian has probably had the most rumors and information come up about them for this showcase. It's almost a guarantee that they are going to be showing off Avowed; personally, I'm not expecting more than a quick trailer, and I don't see gameplay being anywhere near ready for this. Outer Worlds 2 is, I feel, still a year or two out, as they were essentially just starting production when it was announced. So just an avowed trailer here; no dates or anything given.
Compulsion Games: Compulsion has been quiet since being acquired in 2018. I believe they've had two projects in the works since then, and now is the time to show off one, if not both, of them. Their last project, We Happy Few, was that year, so they've been silent for 5 years, besides slowly becoming active on social channels again recently.
The Initiative: Xbox's own "AAAA" studio is definetely...not going to be here. It's been bad luck almost nonstop since The Initiative was formed—team changes, hiring Crystal Dynamics to help realize what type of game they're turning Perfect Dark into—just nothing solid from them. I honestly am not expecting to see them again until 2025.
Playground Games: Fable, Fable, Fable is on everyone's mind going into this show. With some very direct teases online from Xbox social pages, it'd be a shot in the foot not to have Fable appear. To what extent is a different question, but I'm very pessimistic about where Fable is actually at based on the hiring roles the team has open and their first foray into non-racing experience. Give us a quick minute and a half trailer to show off a small portion of the world, but nothing else.
inExile Entertainment: The last release in Wasteland 3 was a sleeper hit for me that year; a game genre I otherwise wouldn't have played or given the time of day became an amazing experience. The team supposedly has two projects in development, and I'm 50/50 on whether we see either. On one hand, they could be ready to announce details on one, but I could also see Xbox saying, "Hey, we have enough for this show; don't rush yourselves; come out next year."
World's Edge: This is another guaranteed lock for them to give a release date for the Age of Empires IV Xbox console port. They've given us just 2023, and it's one of their biggest IPs that nobody remembers. Will definitely make an appearance.
MachineGames: This is the last studio I can see showing up at the showcase. In what way, however, is a different story. Based on rumors and announcements they've made, they're either going to cap off B.J. Blazkowicz's story with Wolfenstein 3 or we're going to get our first real look at their Indiana Jones game announced back in 2021. Either one I could see being a strong closer to the entire show.